Many machines have been developed for excavating. One commercially available type of machine often used for excavating, for example in a trenching operation, is a backhoe. Generally, a backhoe is mounted on a tractor or other machine body moveable along the ground on wheels or tracks. The backhoe may be the only excavating assemblage or handling implement on the tractor or machine body, or it may be one of a plurality of implements. For example, one relatively common machine, generally known as a backhoe loader, may include a backhoe mounted at one end of a tractor, and may include a loader bucket and accompanying operating linkage mounted at the other end of the tractor.
A typical backhoe may include a boom, a stick, and a bucket. In general, the boom may be pivoted to the machine for movement in a generally vertical plane, the stick may be pivotally mounted to the boom for movement in the same generally vertical plane, and the bucket may be pivotally mounted to the stick. The stick may be a fixed length element or it may be of the extendable, e-stick type. Each of the boom, stick, and bucket may be moved about a pivotal connection by one or more actuators, such as hydraulic cylinders. The entire excavating assemblage of boom, stick, and bucket may be mounted on the machine body for swinging movement in a generally horizontal plane relative to the machine body.
Another relatively common machine that employs a backhoe-type implement is generally known as a hydraulic excavator. A hydraulic excavator may have a number of features in common with the backhoe of a backhoe loader. For example, a hydraulic excavator may include a boom, a stick, and a bucket as the excavating assemblage. However, in a hydraulic excavator, the excavating assemblage does not swing in a horizontal plane relative to the machine body as does the excavating assemblage in a backhoe loader. Rather, in a hydraulic excavator, the entire upper machine body rotates relative to an undercarriage. Thus, the position of the excavating assemblage on a worksite in a relatively horizontal plane is altered by rotating the entire upper machine body.
In excavating a trench, for example, the operator of a machine, such as a backhoe, manipulates the machine controls to cause the boom, stick, and bucket to move in coordination such that the bucket digs into the earth generally along the direction of extent of the proposed trench. The bucket is moved about its pivot to become filled with earth, and the filled bucket is held in a curled position relative to the stick and lifted by coordinated movement of the boom and stick from the trench being formed. The excavating assemblage of boom, stick, and bucket is then swung away from the trench for dumping, either into a pile adjacent the trench, or into a waiting container or carrier, such as a dump truck.
A proposed excavation may be larger in extent than the reach from a single set-up position of the machine that is selected to create the excavation. For example, where a backhoe loader is selected to excavate a trench of some defined length, the backhoe loader may be capable of excavating only a portion of the trench from a single set-up position of the backhoe loader. In order to complete the assigned trench, after trenching to the extent of the reach of the backhoe, it becomes necessary to move the machine to a new set-up position so that excavating can continue and the trench can be completed. Often, it may be necessary to repeat this process several times where the proposed trench has a length several time the working reach of the machine performing the excavating operation.
The movement of a machine during a trenching operation, from one set-up position to another, may be referred to in a number of ways. For example, the movement may be referred to as a “hop,” or it may be referred to simply as a repositioning. Regardless of the name assigned to this movement to new set-up positions between excavating phases, the movement entails a number of particular acts and requires a significant measure of skill and careful attention by the machine operator. For example, where the machine of choice for a trenching operation is a backhoe loader, the operator may be required to separately manipulate controls to alter engine speed, lift the loader bucket from ground engagement, retract machine stabilizers, alter engine speed again for engagement of a transmission gear, move the tractor or machine a proper distance for set-up at a new position, etc.
Since the excavating assemblage of a backhoe loader is mounted at the rear of the tractor, the operator generally is seated and facing to the rear during an excavating phase, with the front of the tractor facing generally in the direction of the proposed (but not yet excavated) trench. For movement to a new set-up position, the operator must at some point reposition himself to face toward the front of the tractor, usually by swiveling the operator seat from a rear facing orientation to a front facing orientation. Controls for the backhoe, and perhaps the stabilizers, may be located convenient to the rear-facing direction, while controls for the loader bucket, steering, engine throttle, and brake may be located convenient to the front-facing direction.
Time may be lost in the individual performance by the operator of the several steps involved in machine movement. Swiveling between the rear facing and front facing positions to individually manipulate the several controls involved in movement to a new set-up position may be yet one more factor contributing to operator fatigue. Relying on the operator to determine the appropriate movement distance may not yield the most efficient repositioning of the tractor. It is desirable to maximize productivity by, for example, minimizing the number of machine repositionings, or hops, during an excavating operation by, for example, minimizing the repositioning or hop distance between excavating phases. Some efficient and effective manner of addressing these issues would be both beneficial and desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,214 to Anwar et al. discloses a system and method for automating work machine functions that are performed on a repetitive basis. In the Anwar et al. patent, automated work functions available include an auto lift, auto dump, and auto return to dig work function. Particular machine contexts for automated work functions disclosed in the Anwar et al. patent include a wheel loader and a hydraulic excavator. The Anwar et al. patent states that the controller can be programmed to cause the machine to move from a current location into another location.
While the arrangement in the Anwar et al. patent may disclose automation of some work machine functions, the Anwar et al. patent does not recognize the adverse contribution to productivity that machine repositioning may have on the overall efficiency of an excavating operation. In addition, the Anwar et al. patent does not disclose any particulars regarding machine repositioning or inefficiencies that may be incurred during machine repositioning. Furthermore, the Anwar et al. patent does not disclose automation of the series of actions which may be included in a machine repositioning phase that may occur between excavating phases of an excavating operation. Autonomous operation is difficult and expensive to achieve and, by itself, does not aid or serve as a solution to execution of machine repositioning.
The disclosed embodiments are directed toward improvements and advancements over the foregoing technology.